Zuckerberg tries to defend Facebook's privacy policy

But social site's co-founder fails to persuade the critics.

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has attempted to defend the social networking site's privacy policy in an interview at the All Things Digital conference in Los Angeles.

Zuckerberg admitted to doing "stupid things" at college, referring to an IM exchange between Zuckerberg and a friend while at Harvard. The recently uncovered messages suggested that users were "dumb" to trust him with their personal data.

However, the 26 year-old billionaire claimed that things have changed since his earlier years, and that he now aims to make people feel in control of their information, although he failed to put forward a good argument to prove his case.

"There's this misconception that Facebook is trying to make all the information open, and that's complete false," he said, failing to give an indication of Facebook's actual data strategy.

Zuckerberg referred to statistics he has quoted before, claiming that around half of Facebook users have changed their privacy terms at some point, and that this proves users are being given the control they want.

But Zuckerberg did not explain why a user changing their privacy settings necessarily means that they are satisfied with them.

Zuckerberg argued that, while some users contest Facebook privacy updates, they often get used to them after a while. He gave the example of Newsfeed, which is now an essential part of Facebook, but raised a ruckus when it was first introduced.

When asked why Facebook did not operate an opt-in model to privacy settings, Zuckerberg, who appeared nervous during the interview and was sweating profusely, dodged the question.

Take part in discussions with comments on blogs, news and reviews; receive all the latest industry news directly to your inbox and tailor make your information specifically to your interests. Join now for free.

Please check your email

A confirmation email has been sent to your email address - SUPPLIED GOES EMAIL HERE. Please click on the link in the email to verify your email address. You need to verify your email before you can start posting.

If you do not receive your confirmation email within the next few minutes, it may be because the email has been captured by a junk mail filter. Please ensure you add the domain @itnews.com.au to your white-listed senders.